Going from walk-on to the NFL is not unprecedented at Wisconsin. Jim Leonhard did it as a safety in 2005, joining the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent. He enters his ninth NFL season on the New Orleans Saints roster.

Evolving from walk-on to first-round NFL draft pick? Now that would be a storybook ending for Wisconsin senior receiver Jared Abbrederis, back for his final season after flirting with the idea of going pro over the winter.

Abbrederis was a consensus first-team All-Big Ten selection last year after leading the Badgers with 49 receptions for 847 yards and five touchdowns. Keep in mind he missed an entire game and parts of two others with injuries in 2012, as Wisconsin pressed three different starting quarterbacks into service.

Abbrederisreportedly put out a feeler to the NFL draft advisory board before deciding in January to return to Madison for a chance to put an exclamation mark on his Wisconsin résumé.

One can only assume that the NFL advised him to hone his skills for another year, a strategy that fellow Badger Montee Ball parlayed last season into a second-round pick with the Denver Broncos.

Abbrederis exhibits ample speed, dependable route-running and a knack for making acrobatic catches with soft hands. At 6'2", he’s a tad taller than the last Wisconsin receiver to get drafted in the first round—6-footer Lee Evans, who went 13th overall to Buffalo in 2004.

The former walk-on from Wautoma, Wis., has 2,059 yards and 16 receiving TDs through three seasons, and if he leaves the Badgers as the career record-holder in those categories, NFL teams will catapult him up their draft boards.

A first-team all-conference performer as a quarterback and defensive back as a high school senior, Abbrederis also will garner attention from pro scouts for his versatility. He currently owns the Wisconsin record for career kickoff return average (25.8 yards) and ranks third in punt return average (11.2).

He’s also a threat on reverses, carrying eight times for 83 yards (10.4 average) in 2012. He’s one of 44 players on the Paul Hornung Award Watch List, an annual distinction given to the FCS’ most versatile player.

Lauded by CBS Sports as “one of the nation’s top returning wide receivers,” Abbrederis will need a stellar statistical year just to be the top wideout in the conference.